How I Finally Tackled the Closet of Doom

I have so much shame around my clutter.

What’s helping, though, is knowing that I’m not alone. Gathering a gang of fellow clutterbusters around me has helped loosen some of that shame for all of us in the group, AND it’s already gotten us busting clutter, even before the official start day of The Great ClutterBust!

Here are some pics of the Closet of Doom in my studio, before the first pass of clutterbusting:

And after the first pass:

Granted, there’s still a lot to do — ALL the shelves need clearing, but the difference now is that I can see what I need to do, and I feel a remarkable sense of fluid freedom to do it — with ease. I never thought I’d experience that!

Why was I able to tackle the previously impenetrable Closet of Doom today?

Well, The Great ClutterBust tribe is a big part of it. Having our private Facebook group to share what’s been holding me back helped me process the clogged up feelings, so I could finally let go of the clogged up stuff!

A lot of what I’m clearing out is related to a part of my business, and styles of art, that I’m no longer as intensely focused on as I used to be. I realized I was holding onto this stuff mostly out of fear — of moving on, of letting go of a part of my life that was so important to me for so long, of burning bridges.

It’s scary to do that. It takes a kind of trust in the future, which is why it’s taken me so long to let go of the physical residue.

But sheesh — some of this stuff I’ve had in a closet — and not used — for fifteen years or more. (!!!) Letting it go will help me make emotional and physical space for what’s important to me now, and it will be of so much better service going to someone who will actually use it!

So goodbye, ketubah print samples — I spent a lot of time and money making you so I could exhibit my ketubot at wedding faires. Now you will work harder for me in the print racks of some of the local Judaica shops that carry my work, or you will find a second life as the paper for someone’s new artwork, and that makes me very happy.

And goodbye, matts and boards and papers and perfectly good frames and mouldings I never used — I spent a lot of money on you, but have neglected you for years. It will make me very happy to think of you in the hands of school children or developmentally disabled artists who will love you as much as you deserve to be loved.

This is just the tip of the iceberg — for the Closet of Doom, and for the rest of my studio. And my home, too!

Perhaps the best part? Thanks to the loving, supportive, enthusiastic energy of my fellow clutterbusters, this thing I’ve been dreading and avoiding for years is actually becoming fun!

Wow!

I’m excited to see what my studio looks like after a whole month of The Great ClutterBust. I suspect we’re all going to be transformed in some ways we can’t even imagine right now.

Stay tuned…

Wanna join us? There’s still time. The Great ClutterBust runs through April 30th. Click here to be part of the movement. 

PS — Pssst! Know someone who might benefit from seeing this today? Pass it on!